Cyclometer clock and carry-over mechanism



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2 Sheets-Sheet 1 L. C. WUISCHPARD CYCLOMETER CLOCK AND CARRY-OVER MECHANISM Filed Oct. l2, 1946 l lill' April 17, 1951 71a 567%? f7 l Z jNVENToR. Mam/@arci TMR/v@ .s'

Lucian 6.

jfmun j EMM M l.. c. wulscHPARD cY'cLouzTx-:R cLocx AND CAPM-OVER MEcHANrsu Filed oct. 12, 194e April 17, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m 5 um n Il; I 0 d F s m P. N W N he m W mw w m2 4, a MA ,7, W l m l l m .ww um, u q L Patented Apr. 17, 1951 YCYCLOMETER CLOCK AND CARRY-OVER MECHANISM Lucien C. Wuischpard, Long Hill, Conn., assignor to Casco Products Corporation, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application ctober 12, 1946, Serial No. 702,983

6 Claims.

This invention relates to cyclometer-type clocks and to carry-over mechanisms for such clocks.

An object of the invention is to provide in a cyclometer clock an improved registering and carry-over mechanism the component parts of which are extremely simple, veconomical to fabricate and easy to assemble, and the mechanism as a whole being reliable and positive in its operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cyclometer-type clock having a registering and carry-over mechanism as above, the said clock and mechanism being so arranged that the indicia-carrying members thereof are easily and quickly adjusted or set.

A feature of the invention is the provision, in a clock, of extremely simple structures so organ.- ized and related as to produce a reliable, yet small and compact cyclometer-type timepiece.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional 'view of a clock with registering and carry-over mechanism made according to the invention, the casing of the clock being shown in `vertical section, and the interior mechanism of the clock being shown in front elevation.

Fig. 2 is a view like Fig. l, but with the indicating members of the clock mechanism shown in vertical section, the section being taken in a plane located just ahead of the supporting shaft for the members and the members being set differently from their positions of Fig. 1, and being located in such position that all are connected together for simultaneous movement or advance7 as occurs at 12:59:55 for instance. rl'he positions of the members immediately at the termination of such advance, wherein 1:00 oclock is indicated, is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig, 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a Vertical transverse sectionv taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. l

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 7 1 of Fig..2.v

Fig. 8 is aV fragmentary detaiLshowing, onfa'n enlarged scale the lower end of the leaf springs providedV on the minutes and also provided on the tens of minutes indicating members spectively.

of the clock, the said leaf springs constituting important component parts of the carry-over mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. S, and

Fig. 10 is a view like Fig. 8, but of the leaf spring associated with the seconds member of the clock.

As shown, the clock with improved registering and carry-over mechanism of the invention comprises a casing I0 having a top II, end walls I2 and I3, and front and rear walls I4 and I5, re-

The casing I0 is shown as being rectangular or oblong in shape, although it should be understood that it may have other shapes for purposes of styling, to facilitate its fabrication, etc. f

The casing II] has a bottom I6 which is preferably separate from the side and end walls, and which may be secured to the said walls in any suitable, desired manner.

For the purpose oi mounting the mechanism of the clock within the casing I a U-shaped metal. bracket I 1 is provided, having upstanding arms I 8` and I9 which are integral with a yoke or bottom plate 2i), the latter being secured to the bottom I6 of the casing by suitable means such as screws 2 I.v

The arms I8 and I9 of the bracket I1 are apertured to receive and rotatably carry a shaft 22,k Fig. 2, the said shaft having rigidly secured to one end a gear wheel 23 at the outside of the bracket arm I9, and carrying a spacer collar 24 at the inside of the arm I9.

The shaft 22 mounts a plurality of drums 25, 2t, 21 and 28, the drum 25- constituting the hour drum of the clock, the drum 26 the tens of minutes drum, the drum 21 the minutes drum, and the drum 28 the seconds drum of l the clock, and the latter drum being rigidly secured to the shaft 22 to be rotatable therewith at all times.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the hour drum 25 has 12 iiat faces 29 equally spaced about its periphery, making it polygonal in shape, the said faces respectively carrying numbers from l to l2 inclusive, in consecutive'order.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 4, the tens of' minutes drum 26 also has 12 iiat faces, designated 311, which are equally spaced about its periphery in the same manner as the drum 25. However, the faces 36 of the drum 26 carry numbers reading consecutively from 0 through 5, this sequence being repeated so that there are two series of vSuch numbers in all. The minutes drum 21,

as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, has 10 fiat faces 3l equally spaced about its periphery, the said faces respectively having the numbers from through 9. The seconds drum 28 is shown as having a cylindrical peripheral surface 32, and this surface may be provided with numbers and/or graduations (not shown), indicating seconds from 1 to 60, as is common practice in cyclometer clocks.

For the purpose of motivating the drums of the clock an electric motor 33 is provided, mounted on a plate 34 which is secured to the upstanding arm I9 of the bracket l1 and is spaced therefrom by spacers 35. The motor 33 has a drive spindle 36 carrying a pinion 31 which engages a gear wheel 38 mounted on a jack shaft 39, the latter also mounting a pinion 40 engaging the gear wheel 23 on the main shaft 22 of the registering mechanism. By this organization the motor 33 drives the shaft 22 through gear reduction, and at such a speed that the shaft 22 makes one revolution in each minute.

The indicia-carrying drums 25, 26 and 21 are loose on the shaft 22, and are rotatable independently of the shaft, and therefore the motor 33 drives only the "seconds drum 28 with a continuous rotary movement. As shown in Fig. 2, the drums 25, 26, 21 and 28 are spaced from each other by hubs 26a, 21a and 28a of the latter three drums, which hubs are suiciently long to extend a slight distance beyond the corresponding peripheral side edges of the drums. and to engage adiacent drums. The hours drum has a hub 25a which extends beyond its corresponding peripheral side edge and engages the inner face of the upstanding arm i8 of the bracket I1. By this arrangement, due to the fact that the seconds drum 28 is secured rigidly to the shaft 22, and is located between theI bracket arms I8 and I9, the shaft 22 is prevented from having endwise movement in either direction in the bracket l1.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4. and 5, the flat faces of the drums 25, 26 and 21 have concave cutouts 4I which cooperate with leaf springs 42 mounted on an upstanding ange 43 of the bracket I1, the said cutouts and leaf springs providing a complementary drive and detent action for the drums to maintain the foremost-located flat' faces thereof in registration with each other at all times.

According to the present invention an improved, simple and reliable carry-over mechanism is provided, associated with the drums of the clock to cause these to be intermittently moved or driven in a certain predetermined order in response to turning of the seconds drum 28 so that the indicia of the drums will indicate the correct time. This carry-over mechanism includes a pair of carry-over pins 44 slidably carried by the tens of minutes drum 26 on opposite peripheral portions thereof, the pins 44 being parallel with the spindle 22. A third carryover pin 45 is slidably carried in a peripheral portion of the minutes drum 21 and is so located that, upon proper positioning of the minutes drum with respect to the tens of minutes drum 26 the pin 45 will align itself with either one of the pins 44. A fourth carry-over pin 46 is also provided, slidably mounted in a peripheral portion of the seconds drum 32 so as to be parallel with the shaft 22, and the location of the pin 46 is such that it may be brought into registration with the pin 45 upon properly positioning the drum 28 with respect to the drum 21.

For the purpose of controlling the axial positions of the pins 44, 45 and 46, these are provided each with an annular groove 41 adjacent one end.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 6, the drum 28 has a groove 48 in one face in which is disposed a leaf spring 49 anchored at one end 59 to the drum by a pin 5|. The other end 52 of the leaf spring 49 is bifurcated and is received in, and slidable in the groove 41 of the carry-over pin 46. Referring to Fig. 5, the minutes drum 21 has a groove 53 in which is carried a leaf spring 54, one end 55 of which is anchored to the drum by a pin 56. The other end of the leaf spring 54 has a folded back tip portion 51 which is spaced from the spring a slight amount and is provided with a cut or slot having a short wide portion 58 and a longer` and narrower portion 59. The width of the slot portions 58 and 59, and their locations are such, as shown in Fig. 8, that the grooved end portion of the carry-over pin 45 may be tted within the end of the leaf spring, the groove of the said portion slidably accommodating the edges of the narrow slot portion 59 and the end of the pinengaging the folded tip portion 51 of the leaf spring,

Referring to Figs. 2 and 4 the tens of minutes drum 26 has a pair of grooves 66 in one face which accommodates leaf springs 6| anchored at their ends 62 to the drum, the springs at their opposite ends having folded-over tip portions 63 similar to the folded tip portion 51 of the spring 54. The leaf springs 6I at their folded ends engage the carry-over pins 44 in the same manner as that shown in Figs. 8 and 9 with respect to the spring 54 and the carry-over pin 45.

According to this construction the carry-over pins 44, 45 and 46 are freely slidable axially except for the restraint imposed on them by the associated leaf springs, and such restraint is of a true yielding nature without binding, within the operative limits of movement of the pins. The leaf springs 6| carried by the tens of minutes drum 26, and the leaf spring 54 carried by the minutes drum 21 are biased so that normally they yieldably hold the carry-over pins 44 and 45 in axial positions wherein the remote ends 44a and 45a of the pins are substantially flush respectively with the peripheral side edges 26o and 21h of the associated drums. Also, the leaf spring 49 carried by the seconds drum is biased to normally yieldably hold the remote end 46a of the carry-over pin 46 substantially flush with the peripheral side edge 28h of the drum 28.

For cooperation With the pins 44 of the carryover mechanism the hour drum 25 is provided with a plurality of radial ribs or ledges 64, Figs. 2 and 3, formed by providing recesses 65 in one face of the drum.

Referring to Fig. 2 when either of the carryover pins 44 is in an extended position as shown, the remote end 44a thereof will engage one of the radial ribs 64 so that upon rotation of the` tens of minutes drum 26 the latter will carryv with it the hour drum 25 until such time as' the extended or projected carry-over pin 44 is again retracted and the remote end 44a. thereof is flush `with the peripheral side edge 2617.

Similarly the tens of minutes drum 26, see Figs. 1 and 4, is provided with a plurality of radial ribs 66 for engagement and cooperation with the carry-over pin 45 when the latter is in its extended position as shown in Fig. 2. The minutes drum 21, referring to Figs. 2 and 5, also has radial ribs 61 cooperable with the carryover pin 46 when the latter is in the extended POsition of Fig. 2,

`number of nanifac'es 29 f the said drum and are respectively noimalgto'the saidfaces'. The same is tru'e of `the radial ribs "66i'n the tensorc minutes*"dr`u1'n`.26,fwith'respectto the rfiat faces 56 of the drum. Referring to Fig. 5, the radial ribs 61 of the druriiQl are ten in'number, eachrib being aligned vv'itli theflineofintersectionY of a diife'rentadi jacent pair of flat faces 3l. It iwill also benoted that fthe 'carry-over pins'45 are located adjacent but on opposite sides of?" a l"diainet'ric 'pair' 'of radial ribs 66 as shown in Fig. 4. ""Alfhe carry-over pin 45 in the' dru`1n2'l, as seen in Figf, `is located adjacent one ofthe radial ribs 6] of theA drum." lhe'f cari'y-overpins 44;*45a'n'd 46; andN the remote ends Mafiand 45d f these pins tov also project from the sides f-'their respective drums, and in such circumstance turning ofr thensecl onds'drumr28 Will cause'simultaneous turning of the three other ldrums, 26 and?! byvirtue of the engagement yefgthe remote ends-of the carry-v ov'er'pinsr with the cooperable radial ribs of the drums. If onlytvvo "of v"the pins',4 knamely the pins 45 and 46, arein registration at the time the pin 46 is shifted axially in themanner described, then turning of the seconds druI'nVZ'Y ivvill result in turning of only the two-drums 4265|'and 27. If the carry-over pins 44' and 45"'a`re both out of registration withr the carry-ovenpin` 45 atv theftinie that the latter is shifted axially,` thenrotation the seconds drum 26 ywill causesimultaneous rotation oforily the minutesfdrumy 27;` i" By this'or'ganization'ity is possible to rintermittentlyu advance the drums of the vregifs'tering mechanism in a certain predetermined orde'rrso' ast correctly indicate the timefby'properlyar: ranging to axially shift the^`carry over pin `'4'6" of the seconds drum' 32 once in each revolution o'f the latter, and for a small fractional portion of,I ta revolution, the said` shifting occurring inr-A mediatel'y prior to the drum 28 reaching the 'position shoWnin'Figs Zand 6, andthe direction of rotation of the drum'being indicatedby the yarrovvinv the latter figure. In 'acccrnplish ing thisaxial shifting of the carry-over pin'46 automatically, there is provided a, cam strin'j'll FigsfZ and 7 ,r the said strip being lancedfroin the`upstanding arm I9 of the UV bracket4 lV1, land: having a' sloping camming surfacej and a fiat high vspot 16. Upon the seconds dr1'1'm`2u8`reaching'aposition immediately prior tot'hat shown in Figs. 2 and 6,-the projecting end 'il o'fthe car/-i ry-over pin 46 `will engage the camming surface 6,8.of`the `o"am"`plate 675,' andas the drum continues to rotate the pin 46 will be shifted axially to the position shown in Fig. 2, wherein the remote end 46a of the pin is projecting from the ciently that the detent spring 42 associated lwith thel drum"21completes a' movement of` the drum which totals 116 of a revolution,l or 36. This will bring the next or succeeding at face 3|"of the drum 2'l tothe foremost position@ Upon the carry-over pin 46 reaching the end ofthe flat high spot 10, itvwill drop off and thus be returned to its norm-alretracted position by the leaf spring 49 wherein it does not engage any of the radial ribs 610i the minutes drum 27, so that the latter stays at rest temporarily in its newly advanced position.

Repetition of this operation, occurring once each minute, will causeV an intermittent'radvance ofthe minutes drum 21, each time throughan `arc of 36, thereby presenting the next flat face 3| of the drum to the foremost position at the front of the clock.

At the time that the character 60 on the Uminutes drum 2l' is'in position to be shifted to the foremost position, one of the carry-.over pins 45 of the saiddruni will be in the aligning position shown inFigs. 2 and 5, and upon the carry-over pin 46 0f the seconds drum engag- `ing the cam platel 6l, the axial shifting of the said pin will cause the remote end46a thereof yto engage the folded tip portion 51 Aof the leaf spring 54 carried by the drum 21, and will axially shift the 'carry-over pinl 45.' Upon continued movement'of the ,seccnds drum 28 both of the drums 26 and 2'! Willthus also be rotated, 'and the duration of drive' betweenthe drum 2l and the drum 26 is such thatlth'e detent spring 42 associated `with the drum 276 will complete movement of the said drum through a total arc of Tf of a revolution, therebybringing to the foremost position the next or succeeding surface 30 of the drum. In like kmanner twice during each revolution of the tens of minutes drum 26 the hour drum 25 will be advanced through of a revolution.

It will be noted that the folded tip portion 5l of the 'leaf spring 54 presents a broad flat surface for engagement with Vthe remote or driving end 46a of the carry-over pin 46, and this is an important feature of the invention since it enables the pin 46 to be shifted axially With a gradual movement without danger of the driving end 46a engaging the side edge of the spring 54 or the side of. the carry-over'pin 45. Such engagement would cause the minutes drum 2l to be shifted prematurely and interfere with the proper and correct operation of the mechanism. However, by the provision of a Wide at"surf,a`ce such as -the surface presented bythe foidledftip 51er the spring 5.4., inesperperipheral side surface 28h of the drum. The

carry-over pin 4 6 remains in this' axially shifted position during the time that the end 'H thereof traversesthe flat high spot on the cam platel, andthe fractional part of a revolution lrepresen-tedby such duration is sufficient to cause the minutes drum 2,1, which is-noWV coupled-to the seconds drum by engagement-"between the pin endrdta and a radial ril@v 6.1 to beadvancedjsufr ation. YV'of the carry-'over mechanism is accurate and 'reliable' under all conditions of use.

"Also, by the use of fiat lea-f springs having folded tip portions which" overlie theV ends of thefc'arrymver pins, thelatterneed not be pro vided 'with heads, and @hexerei-e may lbe cui.' from wire stock ina simple'. andA economical screw machine operationf f In accordance with. this invention the drums 25,V 26 and 2T may be quickly`- and conveniently shifted hand when` itis necessary to reset the clock. 'liov provide for this, the bottom iiof the casingllly is made with an elongate aperture '5.2. extending alone bhs; bottoms @il the drums and a slidable cover plate '1,3v isy mounted over the aperture; by means; olf. a pivotsrew 1.4;. and is normally yiel'dably held inplace tol cover the aperture by.V awire; Spring 1.5,. and` byk engagementj between' a lugv 1:5, of. the; cover, plateN with' one edge of the aperture 12. When it is desired to have access to the underparts of the drums 25, 26 and 2?, it is merely necessary to reach into the aperture 'l2 in the bottom I of the casing and shift the cover plate I3 about the pivot screw '14, whereupon the nngers of the hand may be employed to move either of the drums in whatever direction desired.

To enable the foremost flat surfaces and indicia of the drums to be viewed from the front of the clock casing, the front wall i4 thereof is provided with windows 'l1 as shown in Figs. 3 through 7.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In a registering device, a rotary member having indicia; a carry-over pin slidably mounted in the member' and located for engagement with an adjacent rotary member when in a predetermined position, the pin being grooved on its side adjacent one end; and an elongate leaf spring secured at one end to the rotary member, the other end portion of the spring being slotted, engaging the grooved portion of the carry-over pin, and normally yieldably holding the latter in an axial position from which it is shiftable to the said predetermined position upon the application of axial pressure, the slotted end portion of the spring being folded back on itself and having an unbroken face overlying and substantially broader than the end of the said pin.

2. In a registering device, a rotary member having indicia; a carry-over member supported for sliding movement in the rotary member and located for engagement with an adjacent indiciacarrying rotary member when in a. predetermined axial position, the said carry-over member having a lateral groove at one end; an elongate leaf spring; and means for securing said leaf spring at one end to the said rotary member, the other end of the spring engaging the grooved portion of the carry-over member in such manner as to be freely engageable with and disengageable from said grooved portion by sliding movement when said securing means is released, and normally yieldably holding the latter in a position from which it is shiftable to the said predetermined position upon the application of pressure thereto, said leaf spring when in secured position constituting the sole means for retaining said carry-over member in assembled relation to said first-mentioned rotary member.

3. In a cyclometer-type clock, a rotary member having indicia; a carry-over pin supported for sliding movement in the member and located for engagement with an adjacent indicia-carrying rotary member when in a predetermined axial position, the said pin having a lateral groove adjacent one end; an elongate leaf spring; and means for securing said leaf spring at one end to the said rotary member, the other end of the spring being slotted, engaging the grooved part of the carry-over pin, and the spring normally yieldably holding the pin in an axial position from which it is shiftable to the said predetermined position upon the application of axial pressure, said leaf spring when in secured position constituting the sole means for retaining said pin in assembled relation to said first-mentioned rotary member.

4. For use in a cyclometer-type clock, a rotary member having indicia along its periphery; a carry-over pin supported for sliding movement in the member substantially axially thereof and extending between opposite end facesv of the member, the said pin having an annular groove adjacent one end; an elongate leaf spring; and means for securing said leaf spring at one end to one face of the rotary member with the spring extending along the said face, the other end of the spring being bifurcated, engaging the groove of the carry-over pin, and the spring normally yieldably holding the pin in a predetermined axial position from which it is shiftable upon the application of axial pressure, said leaf spring when in secured position constituting the sole means for retaining said pin in assembled relation to said member.

5. In a cyclometer-type clock, a rotary member having indicia; a carry-over pin slidable in the member and located for engagement with an adjacent indicia-carrying rotary member when in a predetermined axial position, the said pin being grooved on its side at a location adjacent to and spaced from one end; and an elongate leaf spring secured at one end to the said rotary member, the other end of the spring being folded back on itself to form a U and having a slot embracing said one end portion with an edge thereof engaged in said groove, said slot being enlarged at the bottom of the U to permit said one end portion of the carry-over pin beyond the groove to pass through the bottom of the U when said slot is placed in engagement with said groove, the folded portion of the spring being substantially broaderthan and overlying the end of the pin, and the spring normally yieldably holding the pin in an axial position from which it is shiftable upon the application of axial pressure.

6. In a registering device three rotary members having indicia; a pair of carry-over pins, one slidably mounted in each of two of said members and located for engagement with an adjacent rotary member when in a predetermined axial position, said pins being also mounted for substantial alignment one with the other in a certain relative angular position of the pin-carrying members, the pins being grooved on their sides each adjacent one end; and a pair of elongate leaf springs each secured at one end to one of said pin-carrying members, the other end portions of the springs being slotted and engaging respectively the grooved portions of the pins, the leaf springs normally yieldably holding the pins in axial positions from which they are shiftable to said predetermined positions upon the application of axial pressure, the slotted end portion of one of the springs being folded back upon itself and having an unbroken face overlying and substantially broader than the end of the associated pin, the said face being engageable with the other pin when the latter' is in its said predetermined position and said pin-carrying members are in said relative angular position; and means for applying axial pressure to said other pin.

LUCIEN C. WUISCHPARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 611,139 Orr Sept. 20, 1898 792,410 Gilbert June 13, 1905 1,586,765 Wilcox June 1, 1926 1,965,718 Wiley July 10, 1934 2,237,465 Zimmermann Apr. 8, 1941 

